UCL Offer Holders for 2021 Entry

Ah ok, that’s a relief! I’m glad they’re built as flats as at least there would be some level of interaction with other people - thank you sm for the info!

No problem! Forgot to mention that while the friend in catered accom didn't see much of her flatmates, she met so many people during dinner/lunches so she wasn't isolated at all aha. If you have any more questions about UCL feel free to message me Good luck with your studies!

So I'm from Wales originally and in my flat of 8, 6 of us were home students and 2 were from Russia/Romania. Its luck of the draw though in terms of who you get in halls - my current flatmate (who is French) ended up in a flat with 5 other french girls, so it felt like she was back in Paris every time she came back to her flat.

In terms of whether its worth it, 100% move into halls first year. Your flatmates may end up being your best friends and its so good to get that first year uni experience by living with other students. Uni accommodation is also so much cheaper than renting outside of halls in central London, unless you move into the outer zones but then you have to commute and its such a waste of time (and money in the long run - catching the tube everyday to uni adds up £££) when you could just live next to uni at a reasonable rate. The only home students who tend to commute to uni are the ones who already live in london, but a lot of them choose to move into halls in first year just to get that uni experience, after which they'll move back in with their parents. I run a few open days for my course with another coursemate, who commuted in first year and she regrets it, so I would 100% encourage you to move into halls.

On another side note, it's unsurprising that your friend had a lot of international students in her hall, as about 50% of the uni is made up of eu/international students. One of the best things about UCL is the fact that it's a 'global uni' and you meet so many different people from all around the world. It's such a plus

To make a long reply short, I would really encourage you to move into halls. Its important both experience wise and also you do save money if you choose cheaper accommodation!

Thanks so much for your response! Reading this I think I'll definitely apply for the uni halls- the commute would involve a train so I bet it'd be even more expensive! I don't think I've seen any other students from Wales in the UCL threads before so hiii!👋 I'm not from Wales myself, I'm from the north-west /midlands kind of area so it's not super close to London too. From the people you've met so far, are there many people who are applying from the UK but aren't from London, like yourself? The only reason I ask is because I think I'd like to look for a job closer to home after I graduate, but if a lot of my uni friends were from London and were staying there then I'd miss them loads 🥺 or do people tend to go elsewhere after they graduate anyhow?

Thats so nice for your friend being in a flat with other French girls during her 1st year, I imagine it was nice to be able to talk about home and have people who could relate if she missed her family and friends back home! Was this a coincidence or did they match her up with people who had similar interests to her?

Finally just questions about student life, where did you meet the majority of your friends? Was it from your course or flat? And also for your 2nd year & beyond, is it expensive to get housing compared to in other cities? Like do you feel like you're paying a lot for a small living space or do you think its fairly reasonable?

Hi, I’m hoping to study law next year at either King’s or UCL and would really appreciate some advice.
1. Although I’m sure you don’t know anything about King’s accommodation, do you think there can be such a difference between the accommodation of the respective unis to make accommodation a criteria for choosing between them?
2. Do you have a recommendation for the best hall close to UCL law faculty?
3. Should I choose catered or non-catered? I’ve never really prepared food for myself, so I think I’ll mostly be buying it for myself.

Hello fellow non-londoner Okay this is going to be such a long reply so I apologise in advance.

There are plenty of UK people who apply that are not from London, so don't worry you wouldn't be the only one! Don't get me wrong, there are plenty who are from London who choose to go to UCL/other London unis over others because they love the city so much, but there's still a mix. I'd say on my course, we have about 15/60 from the UK, 6 of which are from London and the rest from all over the UK (2 from Wales, 1 from Devon and the rest more North). So I really wouldn't worry about that, you are very likely to meet people who are from similar areas to you too.

In terms of where graduates go, I think that really depends on your degree (so I'm a Cell Biologist so most of my friends and I will be going into further education rather than applying for jobs off the bat) and also depends on their own career aspirations. But you really shouldn't see the distance as a bad thing - it gives you an excuse to travel and see different places. One of the great things about having friends from all over Europe is that the holidays (when a pandemic isn't strife) are fantastic Also, 3/4 years in Uni/London might give you a different perspective over what you want to do/where you want to be. You might end up wanting to stay in London for a career too - or even outside of the UK. In any case, whatever uni you go to, everyone will inevitably follow their own career path and go where that takes them. In the meantime, just enjoy being a student

With my friend, she said that she doesn't think it was a coincidence that EVERYONE in her flat was french (but we can't be sure). Honestly she would have preferred to have a bit more variety, but she had a good time all the same.

I met the majority of my friends on my degree course. Most of the degrees at UCL have their own society (so we have a 'Biological Sciences Society') which hold their own freshers week events just for course students. It's such a blast, and so much fun. Almost every student will tell you that the general freshers week is the most overrated thing, most of the time because you have the same conversation with 100+ people 'What degree are you from? Where are you staying? Where are you from originally' and then you move on. What makes freshers events organised by societies so good is that they actually organise ice-breakers and stuff so you end up having such a good time and ACTUALLY start talking to people. Also, there's no better bonding activity than writing an assignment the night before in the library with 15 of your coursemates. The panic, the caffeine and the hysteria that hits about an hour before submission is UNMATCHED. Mind you, this also depends a lot on your cohort - so my degree has around 60 people, so we all know each other very well (most of us moved in with each other in second/third year). The bigger degree courses its a little harder to get acquainted with everybody.
Also bear in mind that this was my own personal experience. Whether you are a coursemate person or flatmate person is quite split across the uni. Some people bond strongly with their flatmates (that's all luck of the draw!). Also, you meet a lot of people with similar interests as you when you join clubs and societies. I met one of my closest friends in Netball club (the social one - not the teams one lmao). So I highly encourage you to join as many as you can in first year, its a lot of fun and you meet so many great people.

AND FINALLY your last question. Yes, you pay a LOT more for rent than you would in any other city, that's for damn sure. London rent is expensive, and you need to be aware of this. BUT it's completely manageable. In first year, I was paying £145 a week for my uni accom. In second year, I moved into a flat that was an 8 minute walk from uni (a godsend) but my rent shot up to £180 a week. The closer you live to uni, the more rent you pay (I was completely aware of this, but my flatmates and I preferred to live close than further out). You can live 2/3 tube stops/ 30-40 minute walk away from uni and pay instead £150, its a choice you and your flatmates have to make yourselves. A couple of friends did just that and they found it annoying that they couldn't just pop home during lunch breaks/etc (so once they were on campus they tended to stay the whole day) but wouldn't change a thing because they saved a lot of money. I also had a job during uni (the student union website has a jobshop, where they advertise jobs specifically for students) which meant that for me, rent was completely manageable. You also save a lot of money during first year which can be saved as rent money for the second etc. In terms of space, you would be very lucky (or just rich) to get a place with a living room, unless you move further out. My flat in second year was quite big (we had huge rooms) and we had a kitchen with a dining table which was our version of a common room, which we used a lot. Again, it all depends on how much you're willing to spend!

Sorry for the very long reply, I hope I've covered all your questions tho!

Since next week is reading week (holidays, in case any international student is wondering) , do you reckon admissions will try and give some offers by the end of this week?

Since no one replied to this, I’m assuming you’re all international 😂 never mind

I think a lot of us are home students lol - just no one knows the answer to the question 😂

I guess it depends on whether some people on this thread are applying for a postgrad course (meaning you’re familiar with uni opening times). If that’s the case, pls answer 😂

got an offer for chemistry with maths! hello to any other chemists on here